Blaze damages former city restaurant

Alliance fire officials ruled that an early morning fire Friday at a former city restaurant was electrical.

According to city Fire Chief Jason Hunt, crews responded at 3:42 a.m. to the structure, located at 2360 S. Union Ave., which housed the former Andrea's Garden.

Upon arrival, initial responders sounded a second alarm after seeing fire showing at the southwest corner of the building, where the blaze allegedly started in a south downstairs wall.

Although Dorsey Ney, owner of the building, said the downstairs had been vacant since the restaurant closed in April, the upstairs housed various other businesses as part of From the Heart Wellness Center, according to Hunt.

The Stark County Auditor's Office website values the structure at $83,500.

The fire chief said that Fire Inspector Guy Aumend estimated the damage at $20,000 -- $15,000 to the structure and $5,000 to the contents.